


Homeward Bound

by LacePendragon



Category: RWBY
Genre: Coming Out, During V4, Friendship, Gen, Reunion, Trans Blake Belladonna, Trans Female Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-08-13 21:38:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16480217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LacePendragon/pseuds/LacePendragon
Summary: Blake is headed back to Menagerie with Sun, but there’s something she hasn’t told him about her family yet, something that is weighing heavily on her mind. Something she never told her parents, before she left.





	Homeward Bound

**Author's Note:**

> Orginally written March 16th, 2017. Reposted October 31st, 2018. Happy Halloween.

Blake leaned against the railing of the ship, staring out at the horizon. To her left, she could see Menagerie approaching, and as it drew closer, the pit in her stomach grew larger. She swallowed hard, trying to dislodge the parts of it that had stretched up into her throat, but it was no use. The pit had latched on tightly, clenching her muscles until they cramped and leaving her shivering in the early morning breeze.

“Blake?” Sun’s voice, concerned and excited all at once. He jumped up beside her, leaning hard over the railing and peering to the left, toward her island home. “Wow. So, that’s Menagerie.” He bounced up and down, tailing swinging behind him. It came close to hitting Blake and she scowled at Sun, stomach churning and entire body shivering. She hugged herself and stepped away from the railing, turning from it to stare at the planks beneath her feet.

She took a deep breath, then another, but tears prickled in the corners of her eyes and she couldn’t fight them back fast enough to hide them all.

Sun appeared in her peripheral vision, furrowing his brow at her. “Hey,” he said, brown eyes warm and tender. “What’s wrong? Talk to me.” He reached out and laid a hand on her shoulder and Blake, without meaning to, leaned into the touch.

She’d been gone for five years. She’d been gone long enough to change in so many ways. Would her parents even recognize her, if she told them who she was? Would they even want to?

“I…” Blake shook her head, trailing off before she could get started. Sun held fast to her shoulder, watching her without getting too close. “When I left,” said Blake, voice shuddering out of her, “my parents. They thought. I mean, I wasn’t. I mean.” Blake shook her head again. Her words echoed around in her skull, mockeries of what she was trying to say. They painted her ears and stained her thoughts, leaving her wanting to _scream_ to try and block them out.

“What is it?” asked Sun. He stepped back from her now as Blake pulled loose from his touch. He leaned back against the railing, his arms folded loosely across his chest. Even out in the cool morning air, Sun held that same physical confidence he always did. Blake envied it, in some ways. Even now, dressed the way she was, fear still lingered, prickling her shoulders whenever people looked a tad too closely, a tad too long.

“I…” Blake took a deep breath. She could do this. She knew she could do this. She simply had to _breathe._ “When I left, when I… when I picked the White Fang over my family, my parents, they didn’t…” Another deep breath. “They didn’t realize they had a daughter, not then.”

“You never came out to them,” said Sun. His arms fell to his sides and he straightened up, realization dawning in his voice and his eyes at the same time. “You’re going back and the first thing you have to do is come out to them.”

Blake nodded shakily, swallowing against the second lump in her throat. Tears prickled the corners of her eyes and she sniffled, swiping at them. “Yeah,” she croaked. “I didn’t _know_ when I left. Once I realized, it was too late, I was already in too deep.”

Crossing the deck to her, Sun rested his hands on both of her shoulders and smiled at her. “Hey, it’ll be okay. I’m here for you,” said Sun. He hesitated, then asked, “Do you want me to hang back, when we go to your house, so I don’t hear them call you the wrong name?”

Warmth bloomed in Blake’s chest at the question, but she shook her head. “No, I, uh, I never actually _changed_ my name.” She shifted and hugged herself again, not stepping out of Sun’s touch. “I liked my name. It was part of who I was. I know it’s not the most _girly_ name...”

“Name’s aren’t really gendered,” said Sun. Now, he stepped back. He hopped up onto the railing, sitting on it, and dangled his hands between his open knees. “Scarlet never changed theirs, either.”

Blake raised an eyebrow and crossed the deck to Sun. She leaned sideways against the railing, ears turning down. “Are you sure you’re allowed to tell me that?”

“Yup! I asked!” said Sun. He sounded proud of himself as he beamed at her. “I asked them about a lot of stuff, when you first told me.” He shrugged, clasping his hands together and rocking back on the railing. His tail wrapped around the bar beneath him for balance, his feet kicking out in front of him. “I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable, or say the wrong thing, and I figured even if you and Scarlet were different, they’d have, you know, a starting place for research.”

Blake found herself smiling, despite her worry. “You did research for me?” she asked, amusement dancing in her voice. She nudged his shoulder. “You don’t even do the _homework._ ”

Sun smiled at her, his grin fading to something more tender. “You’re worth it,” he said, shrugging.

Blake’s ears burned at the words and she punched his shoulder before settling in next to him on the railing. The two both stared at the port. They were probably half an hour out from it.

“Do you want me with you when you do this?” asked Sun. His voice was soft and he kept staring at the port, not looking to Blake. Blake reached out and caught one of his hands, lacing her fingers with his.

“Always,” she said. Sun turned his head and smiled at her. She rested her head on his shoulder and he rested his head atop hers. Together, they watched the docks come closer, not saying a word.

Soon enough, Blake and Sun were getting off the boat and heading into Menagerie. As they walked toward Blake’s house, Sun caught her hand, and Blake squeezed it as hard as she dared, fear clawing at her throat and eyes until she was certain she’d collapse, sobbing, long before she arrived at a place she had once called home. A place Blake was no longer sure she was allowed to call home. Not after everything she’d done to them.

“So, which one’s yours?” asked Sun, his tail wrapping around her waist. Blake didn’t mind it, she figured he was trying to stay close, comfort her, and keep his tail safe from all the small children who were around. Faunus or not, little kids loved to play with monkey tails.

Blake pointed at the massive house at the top of the hill. Sun let out a soft gasp and his hand went limp in her grasp.

“That’s your _house_?” he asked. “What are you, a princess?” His head swung toward her and Blake felt her cheeks heat and her ears flatten out.

“Basically,” she mumbled. She cleared her throat. “My father is the Chieftain of Menagerie and…,” she winced, “the ex-leader of the White Fang.”

Sun blinked a few times. “Huh,” he said. He sighed and shook his head. “A _lot_ about you is starting to make sense.” He let out a soft laugh and squeezed her hand and waist in unison. “So, can I ask a question? About you and the White Fang?”

Blake nodded and they kept walking. She stared up at her house, not really thinking about anything else as they went. Despite her eyes and ears, which weren’t common in combination, no one seemed to recognize her. Blake didn’t blame them. They all had their own lives to deal with, their own problems, and Blake hadn’t been around since she was twelve years old. Before everything.

God, her hair hadn’t been much longer than Sun’s, last she’d been on Menagerie.

“How did Adam Taurus take all this?” asked Sun. “I mean if you figured it out in the Fang, post parents…” He trailed off.

Blake sighed. This was the part of the story she never quite understood, but she didn’t have a problem telling it. Around them, the smells of the market started to fade, and other smells – flowers, greenery, sand – began to take their place. The breeze tickled Blake’s ears and she swivelled them, trying to get rid of the tickle.

“He was actually supportive,” said Blake. “Which I’d rather not get into why.” Her words twisted into a grimace as she spoke.

“Yeah, probably for pretty fucked up reasons,” said Sun, nodding.

“You’re telling me,” muttered Blake. She clenched Sun’s hand a bit harder as they came up to the steps on her house. Taking a deep breath, Blake and Sun mounted the stairs. Sun hung back, releasing her hand and waist to watch. Blake figured it was probably for the best. She already had a lot of things to explain, and she didn’t want her parents to get the wrong idea about her and Sun.

“Hey,” said Sun, from behind her, when Blake hesitated knocking on the door. “It’s gonna go great.”

Blake sighed and slumped, her ears folding down into her hair. “And if it doesn’t?” she asked.

“Then we make a break for the docks and go find your teammates,” said Sun. Blake looked over her shoulder to see him shove his hands in his pockets. He smiled at her, tender, and his eyebrows lifted and slanted downward. “You can do this.” His voice went soft as well. “I’m here for you.”

Blake gave a nod, swallowed hard, and knocked.

There was a long moment of silence. So long that Blake wondered if her parents weren’t home, or if they were, and simply weren’t going to answer. If they had seen her approach, Sun in hand, and decided to ignore her. Decided to lock her out. Decided to—

The door opened.

Slowly, hesitantly, and with many creaks, it opened. From the shadows inside the dorm came a woman Blake hadn’t seen in over five years.

“Blake?” came the question.

“Mom,” croaked Blake. Instantly, her mother rushed forward and wrapped her in a tight hug, clinging to her just as Blake clung back. Tears prickled her eyes and she squeezed them shut to hide the tears. She held fast, breath shuddering out of her, and tried to pretend she wasn’t terrified of what came next.

“Kali, who is it?” came a second voice. Blake tensed and pulled back from her mother, whimpering quietly. She saw her mother shoot her a confused look, but Blake didn’t look at her. From the bowels of the house came someone much larger than Blake. A man she’d grown up admiring. A man who’d taught her everything she knew about diplomacy and intimidation.

“It’s Blake,” said her mother. “Ghira, Blake’s home.”

Her father looked her over and broke into a smile, gesturing for Blake to come forward. Blake stumbled forward the last few steps and clung to her father’s jacket, a sob finally ripping itself free from her throat.

“We were worried about you, when we saw Vale on the news,” said her father, stroking her hair.

Blake swallowed hard and pulled back from her parents. She hugged herself, crossing her arms tightly to try and hide her growing chest, and its emphasis in her current shirt. She should have closed her jacket before she came to see them. Or put her hair up. Or something.

But no, that would have been hiding. And she couldn’t hide, not anymore. That was the entire point of coming home. To stop _hiding._

“What else did you see on the news?” asked Blake.

“Why don’t we go inside?” asked her mother, reaching out for her.

Blake shook her head and took a step back from her mother, ignoring the flash of hurt that crossed her face. “Not until I explain something. Not until…” She trailed off and shook her head. “What else did you see on the news?” she asked again, swallowing hard.

“You,” said her father. “In the tournaments.”

Blake swallowed again and opened her mouth to say something, anything. “I…” She shook her head and tried again, but found her words wouldn’t come. “I…”

“Do you want me to say it?” asked her mother. Blake gave a mute nod, her tongue swollen and heavy in her mouth. “We saw you fighting alongside your team in the tournament, in the first round, and,” her mother stepped forward and took her by the shoulders, “when people around town asked us what we thought, we told them the same thing I’m going to tell you.” Blake swallowed again, tears prickling her eyes and slipping free to stain her cheeks. “That were proud of our _daughter_ , the huntress.”

A sob slipped from Blake and she collapsed forward, wrapping her arms around her mother and clinging to her as tightly as she dared. Her mother held on just as tightly, whispering words into her ears that Blake couldn’t hear, not properly, not over the roaring in her head as the weight of the world lifted off her shoulders.

Her father came into the hug, pulling them both close and pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “You were always ours, Blake, now we just know who you really are,” he whispered. Blake sniffled and clung to both of them, her eyes squeezed shut as the tears kept falling.

“Your name is still Blake, right?” asked her mother as the three pulled back from the hug. Blake nodded and swiped at her eyes with her sleeve.

“Yeah,” said Blake, voice cracking. “I like my name. It’s part of who I am.”

Her mother smiled and kissed her forehead. “We’d like any name, sweetheart,” she said. “Okay?”

Blake nodded. “Okay.” She looked over her shoulder, to Sun, who leaned against one of the porch supports, tears shining in his own eyes. He wiped at them with his tail, sniffling. Blake cracked a smiled and reached out toward him, beckoning him forward with a finger.

“Mom, Dad, this is Sun. He’s… well he’s one of my best friends,” said Blake.

Her mother’s eyes went wide. “Oh! Did we say something we shouldn’t have in front of him?” Her hands flew to her mouth and her ears tilted down, away from her.

Blake shook her head as Sun stepped up next to them. “No, he knows. He was sort of here for moral support, too.”

“Moral support?” echoed her father. “Are you sure you two aren’t…?” He squinted at the two of them and Blake realized what he meant.

Blake and Sun made a face in perfect unison, both of them grimacing.

“Gods, no,” said Blake.

“We’re just friends,” said Sun.

“And we always will be,” said Blake. She turned to her parents. “Are you sure you’re okay with everything?” she asked, hesitation coating her words and expression.

Her parents smiled. “Yes, sweetheart,” said her mother. “Now, why don’t we have so tea?” She led the others into the house, chatter rising up between her mother and Sun as they started making jokes and talking about the travel to Menagerie. Behind them, Blake and her father followed, both of them quiet. Blake looked up at her father and he smiled down at her, resting a hand on her shoulder.

It was good to be home.


End file.
